Overview

• Over 120 delegations, including the United States, France, the UK and Israel, attended the ceremonies—the largest international turnout in the event’s history.
• Hiroshima Mayor Kazumi Matsui cautioned that a global push to rebuild nuclear arsenals brazenly disregards the hard-earned lessons of the 1945 bombings.
• President Sergio Mattarella labeled any use or threat of nuclear weapons a crime against humanity and reaffirmed Italy’s commitment to a world free of such arms.
• Japan officially recognized 99,130 hibakusha survivors as of March 2025, with an average age of 86, underscoring the urgency of preserving firsthand testimonies.
• Hiroshima’s Peace Memorial Park—with over 30 monuments and the eternal Flame of Peace—remains the centerpiece of collective remembrance and disarmament advocacy.